Virtually everybody has a credit score.
" A credit score is essentially the calculation of an individual's credit-worthiness based on data contained in someone's credit report. Essentially how it works is various variables in the credit report are assigned values,” said Mike Waring of Central Pacific Bank.
What would those variables be?
"Your payment history, how you make your payments, if you pay on time or not, that's probably the biggest factor that goes into determining your credit score. The balances that you maintain, whether or not you're maxed out on your credit lines, your revolving credit."
Credit history - this can be a problem for young people, for instance, just graduating from college who may want to lease or purchase a car.
"It can but it's not impossible to get a good credit score with just a few pieces of credit. Credit cards are usually the first thing that young people get into - and as long as they use them accordingly, they use them and pay them down and they don't maintain high balances relative to what the line amounts are, their scores do tend to stay pretty good."
The idea is to reduce balances on the credit cards and again, to make those payments on time. In addition to late payment fees, you run the risk of lowering that credit score. Does it matter how many credit cards you have?
"It's more predicated on how you use them. You can have a lot of them and if they all have zero balances, you use them, they're paid down or paid off, your score will probably be pretty good."
